The Sunderland resident passed the blind auditions on Monday night with a performance of "Proud Mary." She selected Maroon 5's Adam Levine to coach her throughout season 3 of the popular show and will return to "The Voice" after the conclusion of the blind auditions.

“I’m just taking it as it comes. This wasn’t something I planned to do or wanted to do. I was asked, ‘Did I want to audition,’ and if I did I had a private audition set up for the show, and I just kind of went with it ... One of the things I really believe is if something is meant to be for you it will be for you at the right time," Brooks-Thompson said in an interview on Thursday.

Married to Amherst teacher David Thompson, the 28-year-old mother of twins is no stranger to singing competitions. She has sung the national anthem at Amherst Regional High School, University of Massachusetts at Amherst football games, and even a Red Sox-Yankees game, after winning the contest "Sing Your Way to Fenway." Brooks-Thompson also won the Valley Idol competition in 2010.

While David Thompson had a shot at his dream of playing in the NFL after being drafted, then cut by the St. Louis Rams a few years ago, Brooks-Thompson is finally realizing her dream as she and her friends watched her perform on national television Monday night.

“It was exciting, overwhelming. I cried. I had a viewing party, and family and friends and coworkers came out. Those who had known me for a very long time were rejoicing with me because they were so excited to see me reach this point with my music and my singing,” said Brooks-Thompson.

Family and friends of Brooks-Thompson have all been supportive through the process.

“You get chills. I sit next to her every day, but I didn’t realize how much talent she has. Her voice is unbelievable,” said Katelyn Ross, a friend and co-worker at Bank of America in Easthampton. “Ever since it aired on Monday we’ve been talking about it. I bought it on iTunes right after it aired. We’ve been doing the “Proud Mary” dance here in our little cubicle. That’s pretty much all we’ve been talking about all week.”

Brooks-Thompson earned a degree in 2006 in music from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. Born in Boston and raised in Amherst, she sings at the Holy Trinity Church of God and Christ in Springfield on Sundays.

Living in a small town, it hasn’t been easy for Brooks-Thompson to pursue her dream of being a professional singer.

“It’s hard to for people to get to see her. People got to see her sing the national anthem at the Red Sox- Yankees game. Some local people know of her but outside of that not many get to see her unless they YouTube her. I think the right people haven’t seen her yet, but with her performance Monday night a lot of people saw her, and I think great things will come from that,” said David Thompson.

Being on “The Voice” is a big step toward Brooks-Thompson’s lifelong dream of being an inspirational singer.

“Whitney Houston was my absolute favorite singer, and part of me wanted to be just like her, with her talent and her success, and so I started doing competitions when I was 10 years old," Brooks-Thompson said. "My first song was a Whitney Houston song, ‘I Will Always Love You,’ and I won. I knew then that people responded, and how my voice came through at 10, even being so young, I knew it was something I wanted to do and love doing and I knew I was meant to do that at some point in my life.”

Brooks-Thompson is currently recording a gospel album. She hopes that with the opportunity and connections made on “The Voice,” that her dream of becoming a professional gospel and inspirational singer will become a reality.

“This is an incredible opportunity to share my gift, and that’s what I‘ve always wanted to do, share my gift on a larger scale than I’ve been able to," she said. "Regardless, just the exposure that I’ve been given, the people I’ve met and are going to meet, there are so many things to take from this that will be meaningful. But more, I’m so appreciative of the massive opportunity that I have to sing for the world.”

The singer said the hardest part of the experience has been leaving her twin daughters. “That was a little bit hard because I’ve never left my daughters before. But the girls are really happy and excited to see me on the TV screen, and they understand that mommy likes to sing," she said.